Childproof receptacles or containers, such as childproof medicine bottles have been around for some time. In fact, the prior art is riddled with different teachings for a wide variety of these so-called safety bottles, and particularly safety caps for bottles. However, known devices have several shortcomings, which have not been properly addressed.
For example, several teachings focus on devices that require a heighten dexterity in order to operate the locking means of the container. The problem with many of such known devices is that although difficult for children to operate, such devices are also difficult for the elderly or weaken patients to operate as well. One example of such child resistant containers can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,077 to DeFelice. DeFelice discloses a child safety cap for a container generally of the screw on type, and of the push and turn variety, wherein cap and container are provided with screw threads having inter-engaging ratchet-like teeth at portions thereof, preventing a turn of the cap in a direction to remove it, but including structures providing for pushing down upon the cap to release the teeth making it possible to turn the cap off. To operate this device, a user has to press down to disengage the ratchet-like teeth. The problem here is that these devices typically require forces generally prohibitive to elderly or weaker patients. Moreover, the threading on the container itself is complex as it requires teeth-like structures, which are difficult to manufacture on certain types of containers such glass containers including glass jars.
Similarly, there are other devices that involve structural elements that facilitate the locking means of these containers, but which are unnecessarily complex and thus expensive to manufacture. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,819,264 to Brozell et al. teaches a child resistant package including a cap with spring elements on a cap interior surface that facilitates a locking mechanism. The locking mechanism prevents unthreading of the closure absent pressure on the closure against the spring elements. The problem here is that the design itself is very complex from a structural point of view, in that several protrusions and moving parts (i.e. spring elements) resultantly increase the manufacturing costs of the safety means.
Other so-called safety cap designs require that the bottle or container that attaches to the cap have specific structural elements in order for the safety feature of the safety cap to function—such designs thus limit the type of bottles that can be used with those designs; for example, while certain structural elements may be somewhat easier to achieve on plastic containers, implementing the same structural elements in glass containers may be difficult, too expensive or altogether impossible due to the limitations of manufacturing methods of glass containers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,013 to Freed describes a dynamic virtual hinge closure with child-resistance features. A hook dynamically engages with a slot to create a virtual hinge each time the closure is opened. The hook dynamically disengages with the slot each time the closure is closed. The hook is disposed diametrically opposite a locking lug, which must be situated on the container or bottle itself. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,479 to Oh describes a locking cap and container having container threads thereon that are sized and located to engage cap threads formed on a skirt of the cap. Thus, in order for these devices to function, resilient locking tabs or other structural elements must extend from the container itself.
Yet other designs involve odd shapes that are not ideal for easily carrying around the receptacles, which often carry daily medicine and are thus needed on a regular basis. Moreover, odd or uneven shaped containers make their storage by manufacturers or distributers much more difficult, and thus undesirable.
Childproof containers have also implemented means of UV resistance. For example, this much is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,527,619 to Patel, which teaches a biodegradable pharmacy container and safety cap comprising a biodegradable material that includes a bioplastic resin and a plasticizer. The problem with this container is that it implements plastics on the bottle itself; while such materials may be acceptable to store certain medicines, other items—particularly edible or consumable items with an enjoyable smell or taste—may be affected by the plastics. Accordingly, it is desirable to avoid plastics of such containers so as to preserve the original state of the items stored therein.
Therefore, there exists a previously unappreciated need for a new and improved childproof jar that is easy to operate by all adults, including the elderly; that implements mechanisms that do not require complex structures employed on the jar itself; that implements adequate protection from light rays so as to preserve the potency of the items stored therein; that is shaped in a manner so that the jar is easy to handle and stack for storage; and that is inexpensive to manufacture.
It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.